More Than Just A Gang
by Kretari - daughter of Hermes
Summary: They're a family. A really dysfunctional one, but a family. And it was about time that they all realized that Darry meant it when he said that his place was their home. Johnny's the main one he worries about getting through to, though. The kid's caught hell. How long will it take to convince him that he's got a home and family that cares? Can't be easy, all of them know.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I know I shouldn't do this. Shouldn't be on here or anything anyway. But a lot happened this weekend and I wrote this to a song to kill time. Not going into it. It's just got me thinking in this mind set.**

**Recently finished reading the Outsiders. So...I wrote this.**

**Got to listening to More Than A Band from Lemonade Mouth (don't judge), and got to thinking about stuff with that group. You'll understand as this goes along.**

**It's not a song fic in any way, just used inspiration from the song and stuff. I will put a line or two in the beginning, just to show what inspired me.**

**Enjoy.**

The night was absolutely _freezing_. The guys were all worried about Johnny, though. They knew things had gotten bad at his place earlier on, 'cause Dally had seen him bunkering down in the lot. They'd sent Dally back to get him, but he'd come back on his own saying that Johnny said he'll be there soon.

That was two hours ago.

"What if he got jumped again?"Steve asked, concerned despite himself.

Darry sighed. "If he got jumped again, we'll handle it."he said, eyes locked on the door, begging Johnny mentally to come through it.

When the boy finally showed up, Darry got up and greeted him at the door with a hug. "Where the hell were ya, Johnnycake?"he asked. "We were worried sick when ya didn't come home after Dal came back on his own."

Johnny tensed up pretty bad when Darry hugged him. "Thought I'd be alright in the lot for a while."

Darry let go and gave him a look. "You're crazy. It's freezing out there! You shouldn'ta even went to the lot, you shoulda came straight here."

Johnny met his eyes, his own dark ones confused. "Why'd you say home?"he asked. "You told Dal to tell me to come home."

"'Cause this is home."Ponyboy told his best friend. "It's home for all the gang."

"Oh."

That marked the end of Johnny talking for a while.

Once everyone else went off to their own homes or wherever they were going for the night, Darry got Johnny situated on the couch and then settled in to read for a while before bed.

Johnny was pretty alright when he got settled in for the night.

Darry spoke after a moment. "Johnny?"he said, voice serious.

"Hm?"Johnny asked tiredly.

Darry hesitated before he spoke. "You realize you ain't going at this crap alone, right? You got all of us. You're still trying to fight on your own, and you don't have to do that."

Johnny let that sink in before he broke. "I'm sorry, Darry.."he said through the tears.

Darry, who wasn't used to Johnny breaking, put his paper down and got up to pull Johnny into a sitting position, sitting next to him and keeping an arm around him. "Hey, whoah, it's alright,"

Johnny turned his face into Darry's shoulder just as the sobs really picked up. He hated crying in front of people. He never cried, not even with his dad being the bastard he was.

Darry sighed. "It's alright, Johnny. You're safe here, we ain't gonna hurt you."

Once Johnny calmed down, he pulled back. "Sorry..didn't mean to..."

Darry shook his head. "Hey, you needed that."he said, giving him a look. "It's fine. That's why I'm here. I'd do the same for any of you."

Johnny nodded, forcing himself to stay calm.

Darry gave a rare smile. "Get some rest, Johnnycake. We'll see ya in the morning."he said, getting up and letting Johnny lay back down.

When he turned to head to his room, giving up on reading, Johnny spoke. "Hey Dar?"he said.

Darry paused in the door and looked at him.

"Thanks. I needed that. And...thanks for giving me a home."  
"Hell, don't thank me for that. Now get some rest. You've gotta be exhausted."Darry said, stern tone in his voice.

"'Night."

"Good night."

With that, Johnny let himself fall asleep.

Darry watched him for a moment after he was sure he was out before he stopped by Soda and Pony's room. They were still up, waiting on news. "He's asleep. It's been a long day. You two get some rest. You got work tomorrow Soda, I don't wanna hear you complaining about not enough sleep tomorrow."

The two of them nodded, glad to know that Johnny was alright. He always had it the worst out of the lot of them, and it worried them when he was so hesitant to come near them. It always held an aftertone of what had happened to the kid.

But things were okay, they all told themselves.

Still, Darry took the day off the next day and kept getting up through the night to check on all three of his boys.

**Here ya go, guys. I gotta go, though. Sorry it's short and crappy. It's my first for this. I'll be adding more as I go. But I can't tonight.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Man, you guys make me feel loved and crap.**  
**Long story short, I kinda just spent a long day at school and it was just..meh. Our Two Bit and Pony kept me well occupied during second block drama class during rehearsals. Then the middle school's Two Bit and Dally kept me talking after school and stuff. Man, I miss hanging out with their Dal...who happens to be my girlfriend.. Meh. Then I got handed a box set of the Lord of the Rings series to read. It's fun. But, that's how things've been working out. And I can't shake people. They keep calling me Johnny at school, even my teachers. It's really sad, 'cause most of them don't got a clue how close they are to my past when they do that. I hate it. **  
**Anyway, yeah, that's just a quick catch up, if anyone cares.**  
**To those who reviewed:**  
**Guest: Definitely continuing it, as well as working on other stories for this. I'll try to make longer chapters.**  
**Johnny-and-Ponyboy-Forver: Username's adorable, by the way. Working on it.**  
**PinkAmy: Glad you like it. This soon enough?**  
**Enjoy.**

* * *

The following morning, Johnny woke up to Mickey Mouse playing on the television and the room being full of soft chatter.  
He blinked, mumbling under his breath as he sat up.  
Someone caught his shoulders. "Don't you dare get up."  
Darry.  
Johnny frowned. "Hm?"he asked. "What's going on?"  
"You kept him worried."Sodapop said. "Coughing all night like ya did. He's worried you're getting sick,"  
"Nah, I'm fine."Johnny said, shifting to sit up.  
Ponyboy grinned at Johnny, getting up and coming back witha piece of chocolate cake for the elder teen.  
"Thanks, man."Johnny said.  
Once the morning passed, Darry kept a close eye on him, but allowed him up.  
Soon as that happened, he disappeared out the door with Pony.  
As soon as they were gone, Soda looked at Darry. "You really care for the kid, huh?"he said. "You're acting like you're his dad or something, all concerned."  
"He needs someone like that."Darry commented.  
Soda nodded in agreement.

When the two boys showed back up, it was after dark, and they looked like hell. All the gang was back around, chattering away as they waited on the two teens.  
Soon as they walked in, Two Bit spoke up. "What happened to the two of you? You look like you've been mauled by some animal."  
Johnny gave a weak glare, and Darry glowered at the jokester, ushering both boys to a seat. Pony shook his head. "I'm alright. Johnny took one hell of a beating, though."he said softly.  
Darry nodded, and Soda shot up to get the first aid kit they kept. Had to, what with the Socs jumping them all the time. It was needed. All of them with a steady home kept one for the others in case they showed up in a state.  
Darry took it when it was offered and silence fell.  
They were too used to this, and it was horrible that they were so used to it, but there wasn't a thing they could do.  
Johnny crashed there again that night, and this time it was him who was up with nightmares instead of Pony.  
After about two times of being woke up to whimpers from Johnny, Darry just stayed in the living room with him, making sure to let him know that he was safe.  
He felt like a dad, but he wasn't complaining. His boys meant the world to him. And Johnny was one of them. One of the ones that was a bit more damaged, with more baggage, but they were all so worth it in his opinion.  
He was gone the next morning for work when Johnny woke up.  
But Sodapop gave him the message of 'see you after work, Johnnycake,' as he left for work himself.  
That's when it really sunk in that they meant it when they said that this place was his home.  
Still, it was so weird for him. He'd never really had a place he felt safe calling home. It was strange knowing that he had that place now. But he wasn't gonna trade it for the world.

* * *

**Here ya go, guys. But I gotta get off the computer when I upload this. Time crunch for me. Any challenges you guys wanna see filled for this while I'm stuck in writing mode for Outsiders? I'd be more than willing to take on a good challenge or two. Just let me know.**  
**Stay Gold.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hey there, guys! So, today was pretty interesting. Bunch of drama during the last half hour at school. Snapped at a friend of mine 'cause of me having to deal with being in a class full of Socs. I'm the only 'greaser' in the class. It kinda...we only have one neutral person in the room, too, 'sides the teacher. So I wasn't too happy leaving school. My bad. Oh well. Coulda been a worse day. I need a bit of a break, I guess, too much stress is killing me. I haven't stopped stressing since the weekend, and then I got something else to stress about - freaking lines in a play. Gotta be able to go without a script on Thursday, and I can't force myself to focus on learning my lines. The words blur and crap when I try, 'cause I'm trying to force myself to study and it's killing me. I'm gonna get killed if I can't learn those lines.**  
**Not that you guys care.**  
**To those who reviewed: **  
**TheStaryNight: Glad you like it! I'm planning on keeping it going for a little while longer. Least two more chapters after this one.**  
**Guest: Glad you like it.**  
**Enjoy.**

* * *

When the two got home, it was to see that Johnny was gone, Pony was sitting out on the porch when they got there, looking worried.  
"Where's Johnny?"Soda asked as him and Darry joined Pony on the porch. It was a rare day that they got off at the same time.  
Pony threw a look in the general direction of the Cade house. Darry sighed. "He'll come back if things get rough 'round his place."  
"Or he'll go out to the lot."Soda pointed out. "Either way, he'll be alright. If he goes to the lot and one of the guys see him, they'll drag him here."  
Pony shrugged. "Maybe I just worry too much. He just looked real scared to go back."  
Darry got up, disappearing inside to call the others.  
Dally and Two Bit both said they'd go check on the gang's pet. The others made it to the Curtis home in record time.  
When Dally and Two Bit showed up without Johnny, everyone else shared looks.  
"What, the lot?"Steve asked, looking at the two. "Was he at his place?"  
Two Bit, surprisingly serious, shook his head. "Nobody's there. We checked. Kid keeps his window unlocked. He ain't in the lot, either."  
Darry's eyes widened in surprise. "Where would he be, then?"he asked in surprise.  
"Did you check the park?"Pony asked. "He'll go there sometimes, plenty of hiding places.  
"I'll go."Dally said, disappearing.  
They could tell it was tearing Dally when he threw the door shut behind him.  
Soda shook his head. "Man, he's real close to Johnnycake, isn't he?"  
Nobody else made a comment. They were all worried.  
Mickey was on the television, noise in the background.  
But nobody relaxed until Dally came back with Johnny.  
"What the hell happened, kid?"Darry asked. A few new bruises, nothing too bad.  
Johnny shook his head.  
Of course, they knew what happened. Johnny's parents had been hacked about something when he went back for a while, and he ran to the first place that came to mind that he wouldn't be found by them if they cared to look for him.  
Things settled once they realized he was alright, just a bit startled.  
They were used to dealing with Johnny getting scared. It was understandable.  
What surprised them was the fact that Dally all but pulled Johnny into his lap to sit on the couch, making sure that he was alright in the meantime.  
Darry noticed this, noticed how Johnny realized when Dally did this. He sighed. As soon as people started drifting out and Johnny went to sleep, he spoke. "Dally? We gotta talk, man."he said.  
Dally looked up at him from where he was pushing Johnny's bangs out of his face. Again.  
Pony and Soda had already disappeared to bed for the night as well. It'd been a long day, and they weren't keen on staying up too much longer anyway with another full day ahead of them tomorrow.  
Darry gave the other male a look. "What's going on with you and Johnny, man?"he asked. "You seemed so hacked off about it all earlier, him being gone without a trace. And this is the first time you've ever been sweet on anyone around us."  
Dally shrugged. "Kid deserves someone caring, don't ya think?"  
"That's the thing. He's a kid. A year younger than you, sure, but still a kid. He still has that childish outlook. This world, this life hasn't corrupted him yet, don't you doing it 'fore he has to change."Darry said.  
Dally raised an eyebrow. "I ain't."he said. "Is it so bad that I care for him?"  
Darry sighed, thinking it over. "Nah. I guess not. But I don't want him hurt. Especially not by you. He looks up to you so much."  
Dally ended up crashing there as well that night, not wanting to get up and have to wake Johnny up, since the sixteen-year-old was using him as a pillow anyway.  
Darry kept a check on them again that night.  
The two boys on the couch hadn't moved by the next morning, both still out cold, seeming comfortable laying on the couch, Johnny half on top of Dally.  
Sodapop raised an eyebrow in surprise at the scene he discovered when he walked into the living room. "Whoah, hello there, that's a sight to wake up to."he commented.  
Darry rolled his eyes, ushering the other boy on to the kitchen. Ponyboy only threw a side glance to the two sleeping boys before he grabbed some breakfast and found a seat.  
Nobody asked questions about what was going on. Nobody cared to know, really. They knew Johnny was safe with Dally. And that was all that really mattered to them right now.

* * *

**Here ya go. And yeah, it's a cute pairing. I got to talking with our Two Bit about it. So...if ya got an issue with it, sorry guys. Any other pairing ideas is up to you guys though. I just thought I'd add Dal and Johnny fluff. 'Cause that's what was brainstormed today during spare time in Drama class.**  
**Stay Gold.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Alright. Hey guys. Man, I had a day. It wasn't too fun. People've picked up on the fact that a bunch of others are calling me Johnny, and one of my best friends is always calling me Johnnycake, trying to get a rise outta me. It's not worth that. But it didn't end well today. After I split with her, no sooner than I had walked away and she said "see ya, Johnnycake, don't kill anyone" some Soc pushed me sideways out of their way and snapped "get outta the way, you no good JD." I got so fucking mad at them. Ugh. Hate them. A couple of them finally got in trouble today. It was a nice change, but I didn't stop to celebrate the small victory or I woulda gotten in trouble too, and I'm trying to avoid that.  
But I'm not a fucking JD! I told Two-Bit, Dally and Pony, and they all had different reactions. Dal just said 'wow' and let it go, moving on. Two-Bit laughed at me, then Pony just blinked and shook her head. Meh. Oh well. Let them think what they want...I'm not fighting with them over it, even though I did snap back a bit after that. I had just woke up from a damn good nap outside before that, so...not a good time to get me in a bad mood.  
Anyway, you guys don't care about this crap, I don't think. You're here for the story.  
To those who reviewed:  
Guest: Glad you like it!  
Alternative Self: Glad to hear that! And they are...? Huh...I wasn't aware anyone read them with my stories...good to know...  
Enjoy.****  
**

* * *

The moment that Dally woke up, it was to see Johnny still fast asleep. He gave a soft smile to the boy. It was nice to see that he was so comfortable.  
"Well, well. Good morning,"Darry deadpanned. "Tell Johnny when he wakes that he isn't to leave this house until Soda or me is back, alright? Not unless you're with him. We can't have another episode like yesterday."  
Dally nodded once tiredly.  
Darry headed for the door, but then paused and looked back at Dally. "By the way...I'm glad you're there for him as much as you are. Don't hurt him."  
Dally rolled his eyes. "I might be a JD and an asshole, but I'm not going to hurt him."he commented.  
"Alright."Darry said, heading out without another word.  
Dally ended up going back to sleep, content with the calmness he felt in the situation.  
The next time he woke up was to a soft whimper. He blinked his eyes open in confusion to see that only a half hour had passed. He looked at Johnny, who looked pained. Dally's eyes lit in concern and he rubbed Johnny's arm gently, startling the younger boy awake.  
"Shh, Johnny.."he said when Johnny yelped slightly in surprise as he woke up. "You're okay, man."  
Johnny relaxed when he realized it was only Dally. "Sorry.."he grumbled.  
Dally shook his head. "Don't apologize to me. It don't matter, man."  
Johnny sighed, pushing himself up as well as he could. Dally shifted so that they could both sit up, but gave up on getting comfortable before he turned and laid across the couch, legs dangling over the side, and laid his head in Johnny's lap.  
Johnny smiled down at him.

This was the scene that Sodapop walked in on. "Again. Hello. This is becoming a lovely habit for the two of you, the cute stuff being the first thing to greet people."  
Johnny lifted his head from the back of the couch tiredly. "Hey, Soda."he greeted.  
"Have the two of you bothered to move to get food?"  
Johnny shook his head, letting his head drop again.  
Soda shook his head in amusement. "Alrighty then. I'm guessing you two are staying for dinner?"  
"Not if you're cooking."Dally said as he pulled himself back fully awake. "I'd rather my food be a normal colour,"  
Soda rolled his eyes. "Alright, fine by me. You don't gotta eat here."  
Johnny sighed. "I'd have better luck getting more rest in the lot."  
"You ain't going to the lot when you can stay here."Sodapop said, suddenly serious.  
"I ain't arguing this with you."

When Darry came in, Sodapop was already working on dinner. He threw a look at the kitchen before he looked at the two boys still on his couch. "Have you two moved at all today?"he asked tiredly.  
Dally gave a lopsided grin. "Nup."he answered.  
"Get off Johnny, I'm sure his legs are asleep from you using them as a pillow."  
As soon as Dally was sitting up, Johnny let out a soft groan, rubbing at his legs. "Don't remind me. I was doing good to ignore it."  
"Ya shoulda told me to get the hell off ya if it was uncomfortable, Johnnykid."Dally said with a frown.  
Johnny shook his head. "Nah, it's fine, man. Don't bug me much."he said.  
Dally raised an eyebrow, but let it go. He wasn't about to try arguing with Johnny about this. It wasn't worth it.

* * *

**Man, I'm tired as hell. Church tonight...with two people who are about as restless as Sodapop is. It was interesting to say the least. One of them found out that I had been called a JD and told me that I was to find them and point them out. I said if I found them, I'd handle it. 'Sides, if they want to see JD, me and the other greasers can show them the meaning of it. They won't like it, either. Oh well? Not my fault. They got themselves into it. But I gotta go, gotta get some sleep. I'm gonna be dead on my feet again tomorrow otherwise.  
Any challenges you guys want me to try and fill, let me know, I'd be more than happy to try. And if you want to see any other pairings in this, let me know. It won't me a major point, really, just something to show relationship between the gang, how things work out and stuff. Just...most of it is gonna be related to the whole family type relationship between some of the boys, and I'd love to show the reactions to the different pairings if you guys are interested in telling me which ones you wanna see in this. I'll be writing more stories, more romance-type stuff later on, as a fill to a few challenges someone gave me today for short stories. Probably won't be so short when I'm done with them...if I ever finish.  
But yeah, let me know.  
Stay Gold. ****  
**


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